The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[cmom]

I love showing my birds and seeing how they stack up compared to the others birds at the shows.

 

[immyjay54]

It really is interesting. For the record, I've switched to colored leg bands because it's easier to see than toe punches. I must be getting lazy in my old age. First 3 weeks they're in separate brooders (I never do more than 4 matings at once and have 4 smallish brooders) after hatching in one of four hatching trays in incubator of course, they they get colors, then numbered bandettes. Before this I used marker pen on legs because it was easier to see, then i realised it was easier to just keep them separate physically until old enough to put some sort of band on. LOL

Also just realized what thread this is and I don't even have Rhode Island Reds...but dang y'all make them so tempting.

I really look forward to the shows, probably because I've shown other animals and greatly prefer the relaxed atmosphere of the poultry shows while still getting to compete. Don't know if I'll ever enter a dog again, too much hassle and headache. There's definitely all kinds.

LOL that is funny. Jump right in with some red's. Lot's of good folks on here.

 

[BGMatt]

LOL that is funny. Jump right in with some red's. Lot's of good folks on here.

Oh I fully plan on adding some next spring. Looking for RC, so I'm thinking either Underwood or Albritton.

 

[RedRidge]

I'm ordering a toe punch this winter in anticipation for my next years hatch. I use numbered bandettes on breeders. No need to look up who is who with parentage. The number and color goes in a book and that's that. I also have permanent aluminum numbered bands but lost the applicator pliers. Got to put that on my list too.
You can't show a bird with vet wrap on it's leg as identification. There are just so many colors of that. I have used it on chicks and had it tighten and cut off circulation to a chicks foot. I won't use it any more.

A toe punch day of hatch and no worries for me. I use to breed Springer Spaniels and docked pups tails myself. Taking off a puppies tail is no harder for me than punching a hole in a chicks foot. Don't even get me going on castration of calves and colts on the farm. Stuff happens on farms. Raising chickens is farming. I would think processing chickens for the table would be more difficult for some than toe punching. That's just my take on it.

I just don't understand why toe punching is an easier thing to do. I have no problem doing it... I castrate and band lambs (hundreds each year) and castrate, tattoo, and dehorn calves. I just like the leg bands (and love vet wrap for chicks) because you can tell from a distance who is who.
I use colors that match year born... the same colors that are the national standard for marking queen bees each this. That way we know the age of the chicken at a glance. The numbers represent the parentage.
I am not sure what the toe punch gains you except something permanent like the tattoo we put in calf ears. You have to pick the chicken up to know who you have.
Maybe I am missing something here...

 

[NYREDS]

You only have to toe punch once. Legbands come off, break & get outgrown

 

[FOGELLY]

When you toe punch, what are you marking?  Is it a way to keep track of who the parents were or is it more of a hatch date kind of thing.  I'm thinking you hatch enough chicks that it is not a way to identify one chick from another entirely like the colored number bands I'm using so I know who is who and the kids can name them.  In case you are wondering my children have named the 2 biggest HRIR roosters King Friday and Prince Tuesday.

Yes, it is to tell which family line. I use leg bands for individual ID.
Toe punch is very quick for the chick. Pops out a small piece of the webbing about the size of the end of a ball point pen. Very rarely even bleeds and causes only a small reaction from the chick.
Wing bands are also permanent. They crimp thru the skin web on the wing with a tool.

I grew up farming and have done FAR worse with calves, cows, and ect.
Ever removed and egg from a egg bound hen or help with the breech delivery of a calf? YUK YUK YUK!!!!

Ron

 

[dvoice]

If I may, The hens are molting. thats why the variance in color plus they are older and It has been known that as they age they do lose some of the darker vibrance. These were not researched for meat but genetics. Didderent strains have different colourings and just because they have not been bred to the ultra dark red as seen in many strains doesn't necessarily mean they are not heritage. The deep red has been bred for showing. Here's some info about genetics.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1200903/pdf/355.pdf

 

[Jharper]

Originally Posted by [COLOR=333333]dvoice[/COLOR] [COLOR=333333] [/COLOR] [COLOR=333333]I'm planning on heading to the person's place in a cpl days to get pics and see if he got any paperwork for the birds. They came from Pacific Agri-Food research facility. According to the guy I got the eggs from They have genetics going back 60 yrs.Assoon as I get some pics I'll post them plus any chicks( had a hard time with a heater malfuntioning at the beginning then frying the heater outlets on my controller.)[/COLOR] [COLOR=333333]With them being from a food research facility and from the looks of the light color and non-uniformity of them + the big leghorn type combs they are more than likely production type more so than "heritage" Standard bred RIRs[/COLOR] [COLOR=333333]Jeff[/COLOR]

X2

 

[BGMatt]

LOL  that is funny. Jump right in with some red's. Lot's of good folks on here. 

I really appreciate the egg production breakdown and info with all the different lines on your site. Very interesting stuff.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
Personally, it sounds a lot like getting a young person's ear's pierced and I have seen babies with that done. It does not sound too horrible, other than keeping a tiny chick still.